The Oregon Ducks put on another offensive onslaught on Saturday as they destroyed the Washington Huskies by 25 points. They will look to extend their winning streak to three games when they square off with the California Golden Bears who are hell-bent on snapping their two-game home losing streak.
Read on for a preview of this Pac-12 matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out the best games to watch for Week 9 of the NCAA football season here.
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Oregon Ducks vs. California Golden Bears Betting Preview
Oregon continued their mastery of Washington last Saturday as they walloped the Huskies 45-20 to record their 11th straight win over their Pac-12 rivals.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]Freshman running back Royce Freeman starred for the Ducks as he ran for 169 yards and four touchdowns in the win that gave them a two-game lead atop the Pac-12 standings. Freeman’s four TDs were the most rushing touchdowns scored in a single game by an Oregon player since Kenjon Barner had five back in 2012.
Freeman had a similar showing last week against UCLA where he became the team’s first 100-yard rusher this season with a 121-yard, two-touchdown performance. Freeman’s emergence in the last two games has given quarterback Marcus Mariota another weapon in his already-dynamic attack.
The Ducks have averaged 43.5 points in their last two games following that tough 31-24 loss to Arizona two weeks ago, and they have outscored their opponents by an average of 18.5 points in those last two wins.
They can make it three wins in a row when they face the California Golden Bears this coming Friday. The Ducks will be confident of getting the desired result with the way they have handled the Golden Bears in recent years. The Ducks have beaten the Golden Bears by an average of 30 points in their last five meetings.
Last year, Mariota threw for two TDs and ran for another in a 55-16 demolition of California. This year, Mariota is 14th among starting quarterbacks in the total offense department with an average of 320.9 yards per game.
The Ducks are 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings with California dating back to September 2009.
California’s Pac-12 title dreams took a huge hit as they suffered a heart-breaking 36-34 defeat to UCLA on Saturday. After trailing by 10 at the halftime break, the Golden Bears staged a major fightback, grabbing a 34-33 lead with 6:50 to go via a Kenny Lawler touchdown.
The comeback would be short-lived however as the Bruins scored the game-winning field goal to snap their 16-year drought at Berkeley. It’s back to the drawing board, though, for the Golden Bears, who have lost back-to-back home games after opening the season with an impressive 4-1 record.
They will look to put their season back on track and they have the perfect opponent to do just that when they meet Pac-12 leaders Oregon this coming Friday. In order for them to score the upset, they will need quarterback Jared Goff to stand tall once again.
Goff was tremendous against the Bruins, completing 25 of 41 passes for 303 yards and two touchdowns. He has led the Golden Bears to the third-best passing attack in the nation this season, with California averaging a whopping 372.1 passing yards per game. He is also second among starting quarterbacks in passing touchdowns this season with already 24 to his name this year.
Goff will definitely target the Oregon secondary who are only 107th in the FBS this season in passing defense with opponents averaging 279.6 yards against them.
The Golden Bears are 2-2 ATS at home this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Oregon (-18.5) covers the spread as they trounce California.
